Residence Life

American Campus understands the importance and benefits of a meaningful residence life and student development program at every level of our organization. Seven of our corporate staff at the level of vice president or above began their careers as resident assistants, including Bill Bayless, our president and chief executive officer, as well as Steve Crawford and Jim Sholders, both senior vice presidents overseeing our management operations.

We create a positive living-learning environment conducive to academic achievement at each of our student communities. This commitment to create meaningful residence life programs with our institutional partners is what sets us apart from other student housing companies.

Residence Life Model

Our residence life model encompasses a back-to-basics approach that utilizes the core components of what is tried and true about residence life and student development. Maslow’s Hierarchy serves as the foundation for the program and is supported by three core components: personnel, programming, and community standards. We have established organizational systems and procedures that enable us to effectively use these core components to meet the objectives of our residence life model.

The key objectives of our residence-life program are:

To create inclusive communities where students feel connected, are involved in the university community and are academically successful.

To develop partnerships with our affiliated universities that support the residents’ academic success.

To support the financial objectives of the property by creating a vibrant and desirable student community.

Meeting Our Residence Life Objectives

Over the last decade our residence life approach has evolved and adapted with the needs of our client institutions and our residents. Our student-service orientation and philosophy are solidly based on:

Developing a community investment in an established code of conduct that emphasizes respect for self and others and encourages students to accept both the freedom and responsibility inherent in community living.

Creating and maintaining an academic orientation focused on student development within a variety of areas: intellectual, cultural, recreational and social.

Collaborating with the partner institution to promote student connections, opportunities and personal development.

Supporting students in times of crisis and personal need through emergency response and referral to the associated institution services and resources.

Customized Residence Life Programs

American Campus customizes our residence life program for our client institutions’ specific residence life objectives and student needs. Your residence life professionals have the option to implement their own program or customize a community-specific residence life program in partnership with us. Whether for a first-year residential honors college or an upper-division apartment community, the design of our residence life program starts with your residence life manual and is developed to seamlessly integrate into your unique program.